Fire-escape.



G. J. PITTS. FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 19 06.

BATENTED JUNE 25, 190v.

z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lNVENTOi? ATTORNEYS GEORGE J. PITTS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

- FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1907.

Application filed May 15,1906. Serial No. 316,986.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE J PITTS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Fire-Escape, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in fire escapes of the portable type, or that class designed to be placed in a room near a window, so as to be in position for instant use in case of fire, the object being to provide a device of this character, so constructed as to be automatic in its braking or retarding means, when used under a certain condition, and under control of a person, when used under another condition. These conditions will fully appear in the description of the operation.

I will describe a fire escape embodying my invention, and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a fire escape embodying my invention, showing its position when it is to remain suspended in a room while a person descends attached to or suspended directly from the cable; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 Fig. 3 shows the position of the device when it is to belowered with a person and Fig. 4 is a sectional detail illustrating a brake mechanism employed.

The frame of the device comprises side rails 1, a rail 2 at one end thereof, and a rod 3 at the other end. The cross-bar 2 is provided with an opening 4 through which the cable may pass, as will be hereinafter described. I

At the inner side of the cross-bar 2 is a roller 5 with which the cable may engage and prevent its abrasion against the side walls of the opening 4; and outward of the opening, blocks 6 are secured to the cross-bar 2, and connecting with these blocks are short rods 7 between which the cable is guided, and practically preventing the frame and the parts carried thereby from lateral swinging movement. 1

Having bearings in suitable bushings in the side bars 1 of the frame, is a shaft 8 to which adapted to unwind from this drum is a lowering cable 10.

' Arranged on the ends of the winding drum 9 are friction brake devices 11, 12, the said devices consisting of sleeves, preferably of leather or the like, open at one side so that they may be engaged sufficiently tight with the winding drum as will be l1ereinafterdescribed, and to prevent the cables forming another portion of the braking devices from slipping off the ends of the. sleeves the said sleeves are provided at the ends with flanges 13, and the sleeves are prevented from longitudinal movement and also from rotary movement, by having portions thereof extended outward and secured to the side bars 1 as indicated at 14.

Engaging around the brake sleeve 11 is a small brake cable 15, one end of whieh'extends from the cross-bar 2 and the other end connects with a lever 17 pivoted to one of the side bars as indicated at 18 and at its free end movable in a guide between a guide strap 19 and the opposite bar. The lever when-released, is iforced toward the winding drum by means of a spring 20 and this lever at its inner edge is provided'with a series of notches 21, in any one of which the end of a supporting arm 22 may be engaged, the said supporting arm being extended from a rin 23 slidable on the bar 3. This arm 22 is a so provided at its inner edge with a series of notches 24. The object in providing the lever and the arm with a plurality of notches is to adjust the pressure of the brake mechanism in accordance to the weight of the person descending; if a very light person is to be lowered, the arm 22 will be moved along the rod 3 to engage the arm 22 in the notch-21 nearest the pivotal point, and if deemed necessary, a ring 25 through which the arm 22 passes, may be moved into the first notch of the arm 22. The ring 25 is engaged with a hanger shown as consisting of snap-hooks 26, 27.

Having several turns around the brake sleeve 12 is a small brake cable 28 secured at one end to an eye-bolt 29 extended from the cross-bar 2, and the other end connects with a lever 80, the cable passing through an opening at about the center of said lever, and thence through an opening at the end; and the end of the cable is provided with a handle 31. The lever 30 has an extension 32 designed to be engaged with any one of a a cable-drum 9 is rigidly attached, and 1 series of teeth on a rack-bar 33 secured to one of the side-bars 1; the lever it will be noted, is pivoted to the opposite side-bar.

For the purpose of re-winding the lowering cable upon the winding drum, the shaft of the drum is provided with a crank 34. The lever 30 is moved upward when released, by means of a spring 35.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that the device is to remain suspended in a room, a suitable sling is to be attached to the hook on the end of the cable 10, and the weight of the person will cause the device to move slightly downward with relation to the handle, because the hanger connects with the arm 22 having swinging and sliding movement on said cross-rod 3; this will cause a swinging of the lever 17 which, by drawing upon the cable will force the sleeve 11 into frictional contact with the winding drum. When the device is to be lowered with the person descending, the device is to be reversed as indicated in Fig. 3; that is, the hook on the end of the cable 10 is to be engaged with the fixed staple ring or the like, in a room, and the sling attached to the snap-hook 27. The person descending, may regulate the speed of movement by manipulating the cable 28; that is, by grasping the handle 31 the lever may be drawn downward to cause the cable 28 to grip the sleeve 12 more or less tightly against the winding drum. Should the person descending desire to stop at any point, for instance, at a window, to rescue a person therefrom, the lever 30 may be drawn down sufliciently to cause the sleeve 12 to so tightly grip the winding drum as to prevent its rotation, and the parts may be held in this position by engaging the extension 32 with a tooth of the rack 33. It will be understood however, that in this instance, the brake comprising the sleeve 11 will also be in operation because of the downward pull on the lever 17, the other brake mechanism as before stated, serving to regulate the speed of downward movement or to lock the device from downward movement.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A fire-escape comprising a frame, a winding driun mounted in the frame, a cable engaging with said drum, a flexible sleeve engaging loosely around the drum, means for holding the sleeve from longitudinal or rotary movement, a brake cable attached at one end to the frame, a lever pivoted to the frame, and to which the other end of said brake cable is attached, and a suspending device for engaging with said lever.

2. A fire-escape comprising a frame, a winding drum mounted in the frame, a lowering cable on the drum, a sleeve of flexible material engaging around the drum, a brake cable attached at one end to a member of the frame, a lever mounted to swing on the frame, and to which the other end of said brake cable is attached, the said. lever having a plurality of notches at its inner edge, a rod comprised in the frame, an arm slidable along said rod and adapted to engage in any one of the notches in said lever, and a suspending device for engaging with the arm.

3. In a fire-escape, a frame, a drum mounted to rotate therein, a lowering cable attached to the drum, a yielding sleeve engaging around the drum at one end, a brake cable attached at one end to the frame, a lever mounted to swing on the frame, and to which the other end of said brake cable is attached, the said lever being provided at its inner edge with a plurality of notches, a rod forming a portion of the frame, a ring movable along said rod, and a notched arm extended from said ring and adapted to engage in any one of the notches in said lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. J. PITTS.

Witnesses:

JNo. M. BITTER, C. R. FERGUSON. 

